//------------------------------//
// Chapter 8 
// Story: Of Hoof and Paw 
// by Damsus Rhee 
//------------------------------//


Of Hoof and Paw


Written by: Damsus Rhee


Chapter Eight


        Rainbow Dash let out a hoarse wail of agony.

        The blue pegasus writhed on the ground, her right shoulder burning. She could hear sizzling and popping, smell a high acrid odor. She had sprained her wing before. While that had been painful, this felt different. Wrong. As though she was missing something. Something important. But if it wasn’t there, why did it hurt so much?

Steeling herself for what she might see, she looked over her shoulder. Her magenta eyes, still glistening with fresh tears of pain, widened in sorrow as she saw the ruin that had once been her right wing. All that remained of the once-downy appendage was a black, decayed stub. No feathers, no blood, no bone. Just the darkness of some unrecognizable, invading thing attached to her back where her wing should have been. She had the sudden and delirious urge to cut the ugly nub from her body, if only to prove that it wasn’t part of her.

This had to be a dream.

She cried out again, but not in pain. She buried her face in her hooves, the cold realization of her loss sending her mind into shock. How could she have been so foalish? She chased the bird all alone, without any help, even though it was easily the scariest thing she had ever seen. Thinking of him now, of it, she trembled. Raising a hoof, she struck the soft ground repeatedly, cursing and crying, until, her hoof sore from her raging, she curled up in a ball. She wept for what felt like hours.

        Finally, her sorrow giving way to the realization that she was still alive, she stood on trembling hooves. She immediately lost her balance and fell into some brush, unprepared for the change in her weight distribution. She screamed angrily at a leaf that had come to rest on her nose and popped up, jumping up and down on the poor thing as if it were to blame for her predicament. To calm herself down, she took in a deep breath, the air burning in her lungs. For the first time since her fall, she took in her surroundings.

        She recognized the trees and the strange blue flowers growing around her almost instantly. She had fallen into the Everfree forest outside of Ponyville. Carefully, she stepped around the blue plants, not wanting to see what joke they would pull on her in her current state, and made her way to a trail in the woods. She thanked the stars that she recognized the area.

Her body felt heavy. She was emotionally fatigued from the shock still at the loss of her wing, and sore from the hard fall through the forest’s thick canopy. The leaves and dead undergrowth had done little to cushion her landing, but they had probably saved her from breaking her neck. She limped in the general direction of Zecora’s hut, a keen eye on the sun to be sure of her direction. She prayed that the zebra would be home and able to get her back to Ponyville. She could barely drag her weary body along the muddy path.

        Rainbow startled at a deep, dangerous sound from behind her, unnatural and full of hunger. She fell back in fright as a timberwolf stalked from behind it, growling, the elemental glow of its eyes burning in anticipation of its next meal. A cold sweat broke out on her forehead as she took to the air without thinking, spreading her wings to fly away. When the stub of her right wing tried to move, sharp, vicious agony shot through her body. She fell heavily to the ground, landing on her back, crying out as the painful reminder of her loss hurt her in a way that was beyond physical.

        Sensing weakness, the timberwolf approached her. Saliva dripped from its sharp wooden fangs, as others stepped out of the brush to join their packmate in the kill. Rainbow Dash knew that timberwolves always hunted in packs. They were one of the single greatest threats in the Everfree Forest. Their claws turned up great clumps of dirt in their eagerness, as they growled and snarled at her. Her coat stood on end with each rumbling growl from the pack. She clambered to her hooves, assuming the bucking stance in case they charged her. They circled around her, stalking, darting in and snapping at her legs. She knew they were trying to tire her out.

        “You want your meal?” Rainbow Dash snarled, digging at the fresh ground with a hoof. Her heart beat like a kick-drum. “Then come and get it!”

        There was a brief pause as her personal universe hung on a knife’s edge, and for a moment she thought nothing would happen. But then, they obliged her request.

        Moving as one, they lunged at her, vile teeth snapping at her forehooves. The first to attack receiving a swift buck to the side of the head, splinters flying. It sprawled on the ground, a chunk of its cranium missing. The others rushed past it to overwhelm the wounded mare. She ducked under the lunge of the next wolf and threw herself back from the teeth snapping at her throat. With another powerful forward buck, she caught another timberwolf in the jaw, sending it tumbling away. She could see the first to fall slowly standing, steadying itself and turning to glare at her. Its face, to her horror, was mending. The branches and twigs that made up the wolf’s form were twisting and stretching, stitching the broken part of its face back together with the sound of breaking wood.

        The fight or flight reflex kicked into sudden and severe overdrive. She quickly concluded that fighting wasn’t an option. If she couldn’t do enough damage all at once, the wolves would just keep repairing themselves. She couldn’t fly with one wing. 

Given all that, she settled on flight. Or running, at least. She felt the hot breath of a timberwolf on her rear leg only a second before its teeth snapped shut on it. She threw her head back and let out a hoarse scream of shock and pain. She had never been bitten before. She had imagined that having a creature dig its teeth into her would be an unpleasant experience at best, but she was unprepared for the agonizing reality of such a wound. 

Turning over onto her back, she kicked and tugged at the thing’s face with her free hooves, trying to dislodge it from her leg. It defied her attempts, jerking at her burning leg, shaking her violently, sending fresh knives of pain through her body.. Another wolf slid across the leaf-strewn forest floor at her. The fires of Tartarus burnt in its eyes as it lunged at her.

        Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and cried out in fear. She knew she was done for. She felt the creature’s hot breath on her throat, felt the flecks of saliva against her face as it snapped, could smell the stench of previous meals from its maw. She heard its bite more than felt it, a sickening crunch, the sound of the wooden timberwolf’s teeth snapping shut against flesh and bone. She cried out in terror, her mind exploding as she realized her life was about to end.

She waited for the pain to take hold, to be greeted by the cold embrace of the Deathmare. Instead, she heard a deep growl. She shook, quivering in fresh anticipation of her death, and opened her eyes reluctantly.

        Gale stood over her. The pink wolf’s leg was in the timberwolf’s splintery mouth, its fangs soaked in blood and buried deep in her muscle. Some of the creature’s teeth had broken off in her flesh. It didn’t seem to mind, gnawing and jerking, growling excitedly. She looked down at Rainbow Dash, a smirk on her face, then frowned at the timberwolf latched onto her.

With a quick lunge, the pink wolf snapped down on the elemental beast, bark snapping and popping as its neck crunched in her jaws. Wood chips rained down on the shocked pegasus. With a jerk, she tore its teeth free from her leg, its glowing eyes extinguishing as it fell motionlessly to the ground. The claws of her injured leg flashed up to the face of the one holding Rainbow's leg in its fangs, and a loud crunch indicated the beasts jaw breaking into splinters. It released her and stepped back, gurgling in pain as its jaw hung deformed. Another deadly sweep of her claws, and the creature split open from chest to jaw. Maple-colored tree sap spewed from the wound as it fell backwards to the ground, writhing and rapidly decomposing into soil.

        “Gale?!” Rainbow Dash said in shock. She sputtered. “How... where... how did you get here so fast?!”
        “Fret thee not,” Gale spoke with a grin. She frowned and distastefully spit out a hail of wood chips and splinters, shaking her head and spluttering. “I have not come alone.” Rainbow Dash looked confused, and jumped in surprise as a purple blast shot through the bushes.

Twilight Sparkle led a charge toward the remaining wolves with Rainbow’s four other dearest friends following. All wore their respective Elements. The purple unicorn stopped just short of one of the slavering beasts, and with a bright flash from her horn, launched it into the undergrowth.

Rarity, in custom yellow boots and a matching scarf, leapt onto another. They rolled angrily as they struggled. She bucked hard against its chest as it tried to pin her and sent it into a tree, the bark of the timberwolf and the tree stripped by the impact.

        The remaining wolves charged the newly-arrived ponies with wild hunger in their eyes. They slid to a halt at the vibrant flash of golden light from above. Princess Celestia descended regally from the forest canopy, her horn ablaze with furious magic, her expression a challenge to the wolves. She landed directly in front of them with a final flap of her wings. The leaves around her stirred, wafting through the air carrying her sweet scent. Standing at full height, she towered over them with her wingspan fully extended, her magic humming angrily. Rainbow Dash had never seen Celestia with the confidence she now wore. It made her feel small in comparison. She spoke to them with barely-restrained fury.

        “I would leave,” she said, her eyes deadly serious, “if I were you.” She watched them quiver before her and raised her voice. The pure clarion call boomed throughout the woods, shaking leaves free from the trees around her. “Now!” They turned and darted into the forest, some vanishing into the undergrowth, others weaving through the maze of the forest. None of them dared a second glance back at the furious alicorn.

Celestia gave a disdainful snort, nodding in satisfaction as she turned to face the other mares, who were huddled around the prone blue pegasus. Rainbow Dash could see the look of worry on her princess’s face as she approached her, her wings folding into their usual place at her flanks.

        Under the watchful gaze of her friends, Rainbow Dash felt ashamed for running off, making them worry. She also felt naked without her wing, missed its comforting weight against her. She wanted to cry, but she couldn’t while they were watching. That would have been selfish. She wiped her face with a hoof and looked up at them. Their faces told her all she needed to know.

        “I... I shouldn't have flown off...” she started, tears in her eyes despite her best efforts. She found herself unable to continue. A soft yellow hoof was placed against her lips. She looked up at the mare who owned it. Fluttershy’s teal eyes were flooded with tears, a stirring contrast to her warm smile. She hugged her friend, comforting her, which made Rainbow Dash feel even worse. She accepted the embrace. She couldn’t help but notice Fluttershy’s two good wings wrapped lovingly around her, their feathery softness and comforting warmth salving her hurts. She hated the jealousy she felt for her friend. Even though it had been nopony’s fault but hers that she had lost one of her wings. She scolded herself for her feelings, as she often did.

        “I’m sure... that we can fix that right up,” Rarity spoke with an overconfident lilt, pointing a hoof at Rainbow Dash’s missing wing. She glanced over at Twilight, a supplicating look in her eyes. “Right?”

        “Yeah... sure we can, Dash,” Twilight spoke with a fake smile. She turned to look at her mentor and frowned. “Right?” Celestia gave her student a troubled look. Twilight’s voice cracked as she asked again, frantically. “Right?”

        “I would... hope so,” Celestia spoke softly, her voice trying not to worry the blue mare. “Unfortunately, I myself know of no way to restore a missing limb.” There was some kind of distant pain in her eyes, but nopony could guess what she was thinking past her impenetrable expression.

        Rainbow Dash’s ears hung limp. She looked past Fluttershy, who refused to let go, at the sad remains of her missing wing. Never again would she fly in the cerulean skies. Never again would she create another sonic rainboom. She would never be a wonderbolt. As her hope died, Pinkie Pie bounced over and smiled exuberantly at her, her voice as light as cotton candy.

        “I bet Zecora could fix you right up!” The pink earth pony said. “She’s got a potion for everything!” Applejack’s eyes lit up.

        “Pinkie!” She shouted happily, dashing past the pink pony to stand next to Rainbow Dash. “You're a genius!”

        “That’s not very nice,” Pinkie replied, offended. Twilight gave her a curious look.

        “No, Pinkie!” Applejack laughed warmly. She smiled and leaned in close to the sullen mare. “Zecora! She regrew Applebloom’s tooth once! I bet she could do the same for your wing, Rainbow!”

        Rainbow Dash felt a small flame of hope flare up inside her. She might just get to fly again after all. Standing up too quickly, she accidentally sent Fluttershy tumbling back on her haunches. She did a hoof-pump and cheered. She felt hope again, not just because Zecora could possibly give her back her wing, a prospect that she prayed for. But because all her friends were giving her their most reassuring smiles. She felt her wing was as good as back.

        “You’re right!” Rainbow Dash proclaimed exuberantly. The usual determined fire lit her eyes once more. “Let’s get over there and see if she can whip me up something!”

        Everypony cheered happily, piling onto the blue pegasus. Gale smiled warmly. Rainbow Dash laughed and pushed them away, afraid to tell them how much her wing was hurting her with them climbing all over it. Celestia stepped forward and knelt next to her, her face kind but heavy with concern.

        “Rainbow Dash,” she started, her magenta eyes a sweet mask for her true emotions. “You acted very bravely today. But next time, remember that you have friends who can help you. Friends who are willing to stand beside you. You need not face every obstacle on your own.” Her smile turned into a frown. “I don’t know if Zecora can fix your wing...” she smiled warmly. “Either way, I shall not forget your sacrifice this day.” Rainbow Dash gave her a bright smile. Spreading her wings, she spoke sweetly to everypony around her. “I must return to Canterlot... there is much I must do.”

“Oh my!” Rarity interrupted. “I forgot Sweetie Belle and the others at the festival!”

“Don’t worry,” Celestia said warmly. “I will personally see to it they are put on the next train to Ponyville.” She turned to her star pupil. “Don’t worry, Twilight. We will find Spike.”

        Rainbow Dash saw Twilight’s face turn to worry, her eyes glistening with tears. She nodded to Celestia. With a mighty flap of her wings, the alicorn soared back towards her castle, and the city that was hers to guard. Rainbow Dash heard Gale give a polite cough. She looked at the pink wolf, her eyes drawn to the fresh blood running down her leg.

        “I just wanted to say...” Gale started.

        “Gale!” Rainbow Dash spoke with shock, interrupting her. She galloped over and sat down. Her voice was quiet. Guilty. “You got hurt... because of me.”

        “I have had wounds far graver for spoils far lesser,” Gale said with humor in her voice. “Besides... twas a pleasure to show yonder mongrels what harm a real wolf can do.”

        “Here, let me take care of that,” Rarity said, wrapping her scarf in magic and levitating it to the wolf’s hurt leg.

        “No... really,” Gale started, pulling her leg from the floating article of clothing. “I am unhurt... do not soil thy scarf.” The white unicorn gave an annoyed scowl at the wolf, her ears drooping. She pouted for a moment at the wolf, until Gale bit her lip and reluctantly held her leg out for the mare. Rarity smiled happily at her submission, bandaging the wound with a contented hum. It wrapped tightly around her leg, tying a perfect knot and taking on a red tint as blood soaked into it.

        “There! That should do until we can get you to the doctor,” Rarity said happily. “See Rainbow... you could learn something from Gale here.” Her voice took on a haughty air. “One should never turn down a friend’s assistance.”

        “We’ll have plenty of time to talk about that after we get Rainbow’s wing fixed,” Applejack said. “Besides... I think she’s feeling plenty bad about what happened... without our help.” Rarity looked ashamed and gave an apologetic look at the blue pony.

        “How did you guys get to me so quick?” Rainbow Dash asked, rubbing her head with a hoof. “I mean, we were flying pretty fast. We were a long way from Canterlot.”

        “It was Gale’s idea,” Twilight chimed in. Her voice swelled with pride. “She suggested I target her with my teleportation spell but not follow through with it. She ran so fast... all I had to do was keep the spell’s matrix from collapsing or enveloping all of us as it remained locked on her. Doing so... I was easily able to see through the distortion... waiting until just the right moment to...” 

Rainbow Dash moaned loudly, collapsing and covering her ears with her hooves. Twilight frowned. Everypony shared a laugh. Twilight looked over at the pink wolf with disbelief. “Actually, that was some rather complicated spell planning. How did you think that up all of a sudden?”

        “Well... I,” Gale started, looking nervous, her response rushed “I had seen such work before!”

        “Lucky for us,” Rarity chimed in. “But that’s hardly important right now.”

        “Indeed! I am pleased by thy... relative safety,” Gale spoke sweetly. “But... I shall be unable to accompany thee.” Everypony shared glances. Gale smiled warmly. “I must return to Canterlot to have words with thy princess. I shall return tomorrow morning... and I shall see to it that thy little ones are returned to thee unscathed.” They all smiled at her. “I wish thee well, Rainbow Dash.” The pink wolf turned from the group, bowed her head, and dashed off towards the city on the horizon.

        Rainbow Dash sat in silence, watching the wolf go. Her mind was full of conflicting thoughts, each trying to gain a hold on her. Gale showed up about not long after Zecora told them that story. The other furies were loose and she was the first wolf to appear in Equestria in generations. She spoke like them. Could this all just be coincidence? But she didn’t fit the description: a white wolf with red eyes. Not to mention her kindness to all of them. Still, it seemed unusual. But, Rainbow Dash reminded herself that she wasn’t a smart pony, after all. It was probably nothing.

Her thoughts turned from her silly suspicions to her own situation. She had run off without her friends, chasing after the most deadly creature she had ever encountered. Her wing was gone. What if she couldn’t get it back? What if it was lost to her forever? How could she help defend Cloudsdale now? What if she couldn’t even get there? She closed off that avenue of consideration. Insanity lay down that path.

        “Lets go see Zecora,” Pinkie said gently. “We’ll get you all fixed, up Dashie.”

        Rainbow Dash put her fears to rest as she started on the longest walk of her life. At her pace, even with her friend’s assistance, it would be nightfall before they reached Zecora. Nonetheless, she was happy to have friends like them.


*******


        “From hell's heart I stab at thee!” The sapphire-blue pony screamed hoarsely as she plunged her spear into her foe. Her hated enemy stood fast, strong and defiant as she twisted and turned the sharp point already buried within him, trying to hit something vital. Her normally-sweet blue eyes burned with determination and rage as she pulled her weapon from the beast, unable to finish it completely.

        With a grim smile and a clipped laugh she realized that her weapon was pointless against one so great. A quick flare from her horn solved that problem. Dropping her tool on the table beside her, she wrapped her sheath of magic around a more appropriate weapon; a magical drill. She went to work at once, drilling away at the rotted, emaciated form of the strange and evil creature.

        “Success!” She shouted in triumph, her eyes sparkling in delight as the monstrosity went through its death throes before her. “Now... one last thing and I shall be finished with you!”

        “Colgate!?” A red mare said, peering into the room, an exasperated look on her face. “What are you doing?” Colgate turned her keen eyes from her sworn enemy to the unexpected intruder. Embarrassment registered as she took a step away from the pony strapped in her dentist’s chair, a dim glow of teal magic illuminating it. The occupant was frozen in magical stasis, his mouth gaping.

        “Umm... bad cavity?” Colgate spoke, giggling awkwardly. The two mares enjoyed a brief but very awkward silence.

        “Rrrright...,” the red earth pony drawled, rolling her eyes. “Just get him finished up... I want to go home.”

        “Got it!” The dentist mare agreed, giving an exuberant hoof-pump. “Right away!” The red mare rolled her eyes, turning and leaving the room. Colgate gave a long sigh. “Well... like I said.” She brushed the stallion’s teeth with gusto, until they sparkled white. “Brush brush brush!” She chirped happily to herself. Once finished, she thoroughly rinsed the frozen pony’s mouth and drained it. Then, she squeezed her eyes shut in concentration, her tongue protruding from her mouth a bit, horn thrumming with power. After a moment’s concentration, she let out a satisfied sigh as time restarted around him.

        “And as I was saying...” The stallion said, then stopped in sudden confusion. He ran his tongue over his teeth and shock registered in his expression. “Why, that’s incredible! I didn’t feel a thing!” He stood up and shook her hoof. “So, same time in three months, right?”

        “Right!” Colgate bubbled at him. “And remember to brush three times a day.” She led him to the door and pointed a hoof down the hallway. “Please see the receptionist on the way out.”

        “You got it, miss Colgate!” He said obediently as he trotted off down the hall, a pearly smile shining out for the world to see.

        Colgate smiled contentedly as she watched him leave. She loved to see ponies show off their wonderful new smiles when she had finished with them. Now if only they would take better care of their hygiene without her shepherding, she could breathe easier. Walking back into her office, she hummed a little tune as she cleaned. She wiped down the chairs and put her dirty tools into the dental oven, which cooked away the bacteria they had acquired. Now they would be clean and sterile for her next patient. The thought filled her with a deep sense of satisfaction. She glanced down at the remains of the cavity she had stripped away. With familiarity born of practice, she stood on her hind legs and pointed a hoof furiously down at the vile thing, eyes intent.

        “You shall plague him no longer, lord of the plaque!” She cried dramatically at the cup. She heard a pony clear her throat from behind her and blushed. Setting all four hooves back on the ground, she turned to face her red receptionist. “Jot Note... hi! Didn’t... didn't see you there.” She tittered awkwardly.

        “You never do,” Jot Note said flatly, shaking her head. “It’s noon... time to close up. I’m going home for the weekend.”

        “Oh... okay. See you next week,” Colgate said, her cheeks still flushed. She watched as the pony shut her office door and listened to her hoofsteps receding down the hallway. Shortly after, the front door opened and closed with the customary tinkling sound from the bell attached to it. Colgate sighed heavily. “Ah, merde!” She finished cleaning quietly, in a hurry to leave for the day. She had embarrassed herself enough for one morning.

        Stepping out of her office into the streets of Fillydelphia was always a shock. Her office building was the smallest of all the businesses on the block. She didn’t bring in the bits that the others did. Running a free clinic had that effect, she supposed. Fillydelphia was a towering monster in its own accord, its giant skyscrapers a testament to the industry and economy of the kingdom. But such growth had its cost.

The clouds above the industrial district of the city always hung sullenly in the sky, dark-grey and looming, rarely allowing the sun’s sweet kisses to reach the ponies who lived there. Always struggling to make ends meet, working for greedy companies or committing petty theft, those on the dark side of the city usually lived in leaky, cramped apartments or, in the worst cases, the street itself.

The lit half of the city was a vibrant utopia for those ponies who could afford it. It was the Equestrian dream. Celestia’s blessed sunshine gently caressed their white picket fences and big, pretty families in their bigger, prettier houses. Colgate had once dreamt of saving enough money to live there herself but knew deep down that the city would find ways to take her earnings and keep her out. It always did if you weren’t one of the lucky few.

Colgate shook her head, trying to improve her gloomy state of mind. Somehow, she slipped into a dream. She became Irene Saddler, an opera singer who had in her possession a compromising photograph of Princess Celestia. She saw that she was tailed by two royal guards disguised as street toughs. She picked up her pace, moving away from the disguised royal manservants, trying not to let them see the fear in her eyes. If they caught her with the picture, she would hang from the gallows at the sun’s next rising.

She could hear their hoofsteps approaching, heavier and more intense with each step. She knew they recognized her. She forced herself not to look back, intent on reaching her safe haven; a bar down the street where she was sure to find other ponies. She knew the guards would never attack her in such a public place.

She had just reached the door of the tavern, pleased with her successful evasion, when a strong hoof was laid on her shoulder. The color drained from her face, her heart stuttering to a stop. Trembling, she looked over her shoulder, preparing for the pain to follow. Never again would she sing at the delightful luncheons of the Seasaddle Operatic Society. Her illicit photograph would never yield the rich rewards she had hoped. Instead, she felt the noose tighten as the Deathmare approached.

“So here you are...” the disguised guard said with a sly smile. “Did you think that we would forget about you?” Her ears drooped as she realized her defeat. She couldn’t let this be the end. She had to escape. But to escape, she would need to take out these two well-trained, possibly armed guards. She reared up onto her back hooves and growled down at the two like a magical tiger.

“You shall not have me!” She cried dramatically, preparing to fight for her life.
“What!?” The stallion who had tapped her asked curiously. The world faded back to its usual drab gray. The two ponies before her looked at her with wide eyes. “We... just wanted to say thank you for fixing our teeth last week.” He stepped back from the eccentric mare. “Umm... are you ok?”

“Uh... sorry,” Colgate said through her blush, returning all four hooves safely to earth. “No problem... glad I could... help.” She giggled nervously. The two ponies shared a quizzical look before retreating hastily. She shouted after them, still blushing. “Remember... three times a day... brush.” She hung her head as if lead weights were attached to it.

        Her mood did not last as she realized that though she had lived the last few minutes in her fantasy world, the bar was real. Her favorite afternoon hangout was a beacon of light disguised as a seedy, shabbily-kept tavern to fool the general rabble. She wondered if she could afford to go in for a few drinks. Times were tough (as usual), and the ice box at her apartment was all but empty. Eyes glistening with tears, she thought of the forlorn box of frozen burritos squatting drably in the back of it. She had just never seemed quite hungry enough to have any of them yet. Maybe tonight could be their night to shine.

Her indecisiveness was swept away when she noticed it was happy hour. Her face could hardly contain her happiness as she trotted giddily inside.

        Les Savy Fav was her favorite bar. Sure it had the look of a place where ne’er-do-wells and she guessed maybe poltroons and the like plotted their illegalities, but in reality it was quiet and secluded. Exactly what she wanted when she drank. The place was almost empty as she strolled in. It was the middle of the day, even if it felt like nighttime to her.

Colgate hopped onto a barstool shaped like a futon, lying across its plush velvet seat, and smiled warmly at the midnight-black stallion with a matching mane behind the bar. He never returned her smile, simply pouring her exactly what he knew she wanted. He slid the purple liquor in front of her, a gentle spark of magic in the mix as power flashed visibly through it. Her eyes sparkled in excitement as she wrapped the vibrant drink in her telekinetic grasp. He reached over and held the drink down with a hoof, meeting her eyes intently.

She turned on her feminine wiles, pouting dejectedly up at the barkeep. He regarded her evenly with his soft blue eyes. With a quick jerk of his head, he drew her attention to the dry-erase board behind him. She read it with tears in her eyes, although she knew exactly what it said.

        It was a list of tabs, arranged from top to bottom by quantity. At the very top, ‘Colgate’ was written in sure, confident, boxy script. Three hundred and forty two bits of unaddressed debt stood between her and the gentle burn that she craved. She gave a careful look at her flank, never breaking her pout as she illustrated that she did not have her purse with her, and smiled brightly back at the bartender. 

He frowned and pulled the glass away from her. For each centimeter by which she lost the precious beverage, her ears drooped lower and lower, outthrust lower lip trembling. He sighed at her, the only sound she had ever heard him make, and slid the glass back to her. Turning around, he erased her tab, adding her new amount to the top of the list.
        “Thanks Barley Hop,” Colgate whispered to him, her face genuinely apologetic. He turned to look at her, his eyes devoid of any readable emotion, and went back to cleaning a glass with a rag. “You're the best.” He gave her a lengthy, even look before returning to his duties.

        She took a long sip, the warm but electrifying sensation of the Flim Flam Electric Shot Company’s brew shooting through every inch of her body. She didn’t know how they made this stuff, and didn’t care. She only knew that it tasted delicious.

Hesitantly, she looked back up at the board, wincing. She felt a pang. Barley Hop had always been generous. Giving her drinks and putting it on a tab that he knew as well as her she could never repay. He never spoke to her, or to anypony for that matter. He was a silent sentinel in the bustling, noisy city, giving drinks and comfort to those in need of it. She always assumed that he treated her so kindly because she offered the same to those who could never afford the dentistry she performed.

As she sat in silence, she let her mind wander back to Ponyville. Nopony back there knew the trouble she was in. She hid everything behind a false smile and a bottle of liquor. Her coltfriend, Golden Rum, had been possessive and controlling. When she told him her dreams of dentistry, he had lost it. He didn’t want to lose the money she earned at the club.
Colgate had hated the club. Sitting on a lonely hill outside of Ponyville, from a distance, it could be easily mistaken for an abandoned shack. Inside, it was The Silk Saddle, a secretive and exclusive lingerie club. She was a dresser, somepony who put clothing on for the pleasure of customers.

She would spend hours there, dressing herself in various fashions that made her blush to this day. All for the amusement of stallions and sometimes mares. One thing more than any other had terrified her. Degraded her very soul. Threatened to overtake her and make her into less than the sum of her parts. A piece of clothing so terrible that it ruined her peaceful sleep, haunting her dreams with its wavy bodies and soft microfibers.

Socks.

She shuddered at the thought. Never again would she wear those degrading things. Pulling them on with her teeth as she lay awkwardly across the floor, the cruel and beady eyes of onlookers watching her intently, just so she could pull them off again. At times she liked the attention. Usually after a fight with Golden Rum. Mostly, she was just ashamed. If not for Berry Punch, she would have died in that place. Well, maybe not died, she reflected. But it still would have been pretty uncomfortable.

One fateful night, Golden Rum had struck her. Berry Punch had seen it. The drunken mare managed to sober herself for the walk to the train station. She had escorted Colgate herself. Had been the last pony ever to call her by her real name. A name that died with her abandoned life in Ponyville.

Minuette.

She looked furtively around the bar, fearful that somepony might have heard her just think it and find out who she was. All she saw was an older stallion trying to make friends with a wall that he seemed to find very attractive. It didn’t seem very interested. 

Starting a new life in Fillydelphia hadn’t been as simple as it had sounded when she and Berry Punch had discussed it. Other than her super-special talent, she had never been very good with magic. Half the time, telekinesis, the simplest trick a unicorn could do, backfired on her.

Fearful that Golden Rum would find her and drag her home, she had adopted the name Colgate, a quiet rebellion against Golden Rum’s attempts to quash her dreams. She had lived on the streets for weeks, scrounging food, starving and scared. Just when she thought she couldn’t go on, that she would have to return to the hard hooves of her ex, a very special somepony had opened her home and her heart to Colgate.

        Cherry Spices was a vibrant unicorn. Colgate had first spied her walking into a nearby lingerie club, just like the one she had used to work in. She had considered going to work there, when things were particularly hard. She had thought she was the prettiest mare she had ever seen, but other than that had paid her little attention. Until that night.

        One night, the chocolate-colored mare had approached her and dropped an apple at her hooves as she lay, cold and shivering, on the hard concrete of an alley. She had been daydreaming, about being a pirate she thought, when the juicy red fruit snapped her into reality. She thanked Celestia and dug in. When she had finished, Cherry Spices smiled and offered to put her up for the night. Colgate never expected that one night to turn into two, or three, or a year.

        It was strange for her, living with a pony who did what she had once done, and enjoyed it so much more than she would have ever thought possible. Night after night, the chocolate pony would come home, proudly wearing her socks, going on about her wonderful day. She actually liked what she did. In time, Colgate found a position at a local clinic. She still didn’t earn enough.

        Colgate snapped back to reality as the jukebox roared to life, the sound of Seven Barns blaring out of it. Colgate and Barley Hop stared daggers at the emerald green stallion who had activated the machine. After a moment of their visual onslaught, he unplugged it with a hoof, smiling sheepishly. Colgate stared sadly into her empty glass, a single tear dripping into the dry bottom of it.

        She felt a gentle hoof on her shoulder. Barley Hop regarded her kindly, though it still came out unreadable. She gave him an awkward smile and he pushed another drink over to her. She began to object, but he pointed a hoof at his trademark sign hanging above the more-expensive booze. 


‘Do not argue with the bartender or you will get bucked.’


She smiled honestly and laughed, wiping her eyes.

        “Thank you,” she whispered to him. He just nodded curtly as he turned back to his duties. She sipped the drink in silent contentment.

        It was almost six o'clock when the mare stumbled out of the bar. No, not a mare. The pilot of a famous siege dirigible. She galloped down the city street, to the horror of onlookers, her drunken hooves acting as rudders and propellers. 
In her warm, satisfied state, she couldn’t remember if she was the pilot, or the dirigible itself. Whether behind the wheel or the wheel itself, she flew all the way home to her apartment. Going up the elevator, drawn by a pony on a turn wheel, her mouth subconsciously spouted the sounds of battle.

        “Pew pew pew!” She blurted, galloping in circles around the small car. The worker arched an eyebrow at the strange mare. “Pow! Blam!” The elevator door opened and she raced down the hallway on a mission to bomb Stalliongrad. The door to her flat never had a chance as the drunken pony slammed into it. It banged open and she tumbled across the floor, landing at the hooves of a very startled Cherry Spices. She looked down at Colgate with wide eyes.

        “Again, sugar?” Cherry Spices asked, walking past the prone pony to shut the door with her hoof. “You know... these streets ain’t exactly safe for a cutie like you to run around all hammered. One of these days somepony’s gonna snatch ya up like a spider in a web. Then what you gonna do... huh?”

        “I’m... a blimp!” Colgate drawled in her drunken stupor. Cherry laughed. “What’s so... funny?” Cherry Spices wrapped her in a gentle pink aura and lifted her delicately. Colgate emitted a variety of whooshes and zooms, like a foal carried by a parent. The chocolate pony carried her down the hall to the bedroom and laid her on their bed.

        “There ya go sugar. Sleep well,” she said as she patted Colgate on the head and pulled the covers over her. She brushed her own luscious red and pink mane from her eyes, and smiled down at the dozing pony. “Can’t get mad at you for long can I? I gotta go to work hon... have you seen my pink socks? You know... the ones with the little hearts on ‘em?” Colgate growled from deep within her body at the mention of socks, rolling over. “Fine, fine! Talk at you tonight. Gonna make us supper later on.”

        As the sweet pony trotted down the hall, Colgate opened her eyes to look out her apartment window. The sun was beginning to set. She smiled brightly and had a snuggle contest with her pillow, tired but giddy at the promise of dreams to come.


*******


        Mockery arrived at the outskirts of Fillydelphia just as the sun began to sink below the horizon. The giant spider looked out hungrily on the smoke-shrouded city. An unquenchable urge to sow violence and insanity took hold of her. How she longed for new puppets for her pleasure. It had been too long.

Her dark heart rejoiced as she took in the great skyscrapers and majestic arches, the perfect stage for her macabre pageantry. In this place, everypony would be her marionette, acting according to her script in roles both droll and tragic until their time in the spotlight came to an end, as ever it did. And all at her behest. Here, every creature in Equestria would lay prostrate before the majesty of her art.

        She danced.

        Mockery’s terrible, alien expression shone out nightmarishly as she surveyed the scene laid out below her. “Act one begins!” She whispered to herself with a sultry flourish. With disturbing grace and speed, the spider raced down towards the city, through the outlying fields and hamlets.

        The great spider stopped just short of the city’s borders. Ponies on the other side, carrying on their live’s daily routines, stopped and stared at her in a mixture of disbelief and horror. She took a careful step forward and they fell backwards in fright.

        “Please... my beloved patrons,” Mockery falsely reassured them. “Be thou not afraid! I bring thee good tidings of great joy to all ponies.” They exchanged frightened glances, standing stock-still in the monstrous predator's awful eyes. “For today, in this very city, I, Mockery, holder of strings, shall deliver thee from the thankless plight of thy everyday toil. No longer shalt thou fear for thy life’s purpose. In my mercy, I shall shoulder all thy burdens.”

        As she moved towards them, they gave voice to her fondest desires.

        She waded into them, dancing to the cacophonous music of their screams.


*******


        “Goodnight, mommy!” Three young fillies cheered in groggy unison from their shared bed, huddled under the covers. As did all fillies when sleep came, they fought to keep their tired eyes open. Chatty Shy smiled fondly at them.

        “Goodnight Brash. Goodnight Bliss. Goodnight Boast,” she said kindly, kissing each on their head in turn. She made her way to the door and pulled it shut with a hoof, leaving only enough room for the gentle light of the hallway to warm their cheeks.

        As soon as she was shut out of their sight, she allowed herself a tired sigh, her countenance and her ears falling from their usual perky maternal poise. Raising foals in this city was so hard. Making ends meet got harder every day. Her tiny apartment had just one bedroom, and that was occupied by her foals. Unless the girls were scared, she slept on the couch. Barely scraping by, feeding them on charity. Then, she had got the letter calling her for an interview.

        If she could get this job, she could stop feeding her foals fruit and hay that was past its prime. Maybe she could even afford to move somewhere else. To some city that didn’t eat ponies alive. For the first time in a long time, Chatty Shy let a small fire of happiness light up her heart. Now she just needed to ace her interview, and sweet, sweet pastries would follow.

        She began to panic. She had no idea what to wear for such an important interview. All her winter clothes were still out, and none of it had the respectable business-pony look that she would need to pass muster in the judgemental eyes of her prospective superiors. Galloping to her dresser, she grabbed her purse. Inside was the pathetic tally of her savings.

Six bits.

Fluffy dreams of muffins and cookies vanished from her eyes with an almost audible noise. How was she supposed to come off as a respectable secretary if she didn’t have even one appropriate outfit? Surely there would be plenty of other ponies for them to choose from. She knew in her heart that if she didn’t look the part, they would toss her aside. Taking the six bits from her purse, she prayed to the celestial princesses that she would get the job tonight. If not, nopony in her flat would eat for the rest of the week.

Chatty Shy dashed out, stopping only for a moment to lock the door, and trotted down the stairs. She was going to be cutting it close. She thought it was strange to be having an interview as this hour anyways. Still, she had to have something to wear. On the way out of her building, she stopped at the front desk, and smiled her prettiest smile at the rugged grey stallion who sat behind it.

“Hi, Ink Well,” she greeted him exuberantly. She paused for a moment, staring at the silent sentinel of the apartment complex, awaiting a response. She could feel the charge in the air, the awkwardness of the silence between them. Her one true weakness as a pony. Taking a deep breath, she repaired to her one great defense mechanism when she was embarrassed to be talking to somepony. Which was more or less always. 

She began to prattle incessantly, a steady stream of chatter pouring almost unwillingly from her mouth. “So, how’s the weather today? Pretty good I think but who knows?” She was growing more embarrassed by the moment as he stared at her. “So um I got this interview and I just was wondering just maybe if it isn’t too much to ask you know with you being so busy and doing the stuff that you do...” She gasped in a big breath of air, trying to calm herself and slow down, her face flushing. “Could you watch my little ones... while I’m away?”

“Yeah,” Ink Well said, carefully rising from his cushioned seat. “But... there is... another matter I need to speak to you about.” She felt a slow, cold dread crawling down her spine.

She giggled nervously, shuffling her hooves. “...yes?” She winced, fearing his answer.

“Well... it’s about the rent,” he said, scratching the back of his head nervously. She sensed him about to continue, but interrupted nervously.

“Rent?” She cocked her head, feigning shock and confusion. She was bucked. She hadn’t yet paid last month's rent, and here it was the middle of this one. She inhaled another lungful of oxygen “You see things have been kinda rough lately but they are turning around and if I get this job I’m going for then things will definitely be better do you think you could just maybe you know wait maybe another week or two and I could get all caught up?” She gasped for air, panting, smiling brightly, praying silently for approval.

He frowned at her.

He had always been a kind pony, watching her girls when she needed to do the odd job here and there. But maybe she had finally outstayed her welcome. She sighed inwardly. It wouldn’t be the first time somepony had kicked her out. She knew it was wrong of her to keep laying the heavy burdens of her life and her bad choices on other ponies backs, but she did need help, and things were hard. If she lost her apartment, the Equestrian Young Equine Services would come and take away her daughters. That would be as good as tearing out her heart. She would rather die.
“Your foals been eating, miss Shy?” He asked in a kind tone. Great! He was going to be the one to call them! She could feel her heart racing, threatening to burst, her eyes welling with tears.

“Please!” She pleaded as she walked around the desk and fell to the floor before him, grasping his forehoof tightly, as if holding onto it would stop him writing the damning letter. “Please! I’m so close to getting everything back together!” She began to hyperventilate, her vision blurring. “I know they would probably be better taken care of in EYES... but I am their mother and their father is gone and I’m trying so hard and they should be with me because I love them and I’m trying as hard as I can to keep them and I haven’t eaten in about three days just to feed them and if I get this job I could keep them and...” He cut her off by taking his hoof hers.

She felt empty, tears no longer coming. She had failed.

It was over.

She had hoped to appeal to his equinity, but had just ended up looking like another desperate, unfit mother. All the hope and joy that she had felt about her interview left her. She no longer cared. What good was a new job if she lost her heart? Instead she laid her head in the cooling puddle of her own tears, her ears never to perk happily again.

He laid a gentle hoof on her head, much to her dismay.

“I’m not going to call EYES, Chatty Shy,” Ink Well said softly. She chanced a glance up at him. He was blushing, a lopsided smile on his face. She had to admit it was kind of cute on such a tough-looking stallion. “I was just curious... you know...” he shook his head. “If you would just slow down and listen for a second you would know that I could never do that.” He rubbed his head with a hoof, bashfully. She had never seen him like this.

Sitting up, wiping away her tears, she asked, “What were you curious about?”

“Well... it’s hard to... you know... just come out and say it,” Ink Well said softly. After a brief pause he sighed and continued. “I know times are tough for you and your girls. Especially since your husband passed away.” He frowned at her. “And I would never let a widowed mother of three move into an apartment here, especially one without an income to support her, just to cause me problems later on.”

“What... what are you saying?” She asked him curiously, oblivious.

He looked away sheepishly. “Your girls like me,” he said and shrugged. “I like them. And I... you know... like you.” He blushed at her once again.

“Well I like you too Ink Well but I don’t see how...” she began.

“No!” He interrupted. He enunciated his words to her. “I... like... you.”

“OH!” She gasped, completely taken aback by the outpouring of the sturdy stallion’s heart. “You... like me? ‘Very special somepony’ like me?” He simply nodded, his face flushed. She thought for a second, looking at the floor. He was handsome, in a rough sort of way. She instantly began to feel bad for even thinking about it. How could she put her burdens on another? Why should she try to find happiness for herself if she couldn’t give it to her little ones? “You know I have no money... three fillies... and cartload of problems.”

“Don’t care,” he said honestly. Not like the honesty from her other coltfriends. Those stallions had seen an easy mark and taken advantage of a silly mare down on her luck. Here stood a stallion actually looking for trouble. And she could give it him in spades. “I got a little money. Not much, but... I love the little ones.” She smiled from the heart at that. They loved him too, she knew. He cleared his throat, looking away from her. “Can’t have any little ones of my own...” he trailed off awkwardly.

He was perfect.

An honest, hardworking guy who would help her in her hour of need. Somepony whose broken parts she could help put back together. The same as he could do for her. She leaned forward, their eyes locking, wanting nothing more than to kiss him. She flushed, her pupils dilated, and her heart fluttered like she was running a race. To Tartarus with all the other worries in the world. She had nowhere more important to be.

“LATE!” Chatty Shy screamed into his puckering lips. He fell face-forward. “Oh Celestia I forgot my interview!” Looking behind the prone pony she glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost ten o’clock. “It’s ok... I’ve got fifteen minutes to run three blocks to the fashion store and get a dress for the interview. Then about three more blocks to the office! I can do that.” Her eye twitched. “Right?” A silky voice purred from behind her.

“Sugar,” Cherry Spices said, trotting through the front door of the building, big white saddlebags at her sides. “Did I happen to hear that somepony needs an outfit for an interview?”

“Miss Spice,” Ink Well said companionably, getting up and dusting himself off. He smiled at Chatty Shy and laughed. “She could definitely use a quick fix in the wardrobe department.”

Setting down her bags, she began haphazardly throwing out different articles of clothing. Some would have made Celestia herself blush. The chocolate pony seemed pleased as she pulled out a black lacy skirt and white vest and ribbon.

“You’re kidding... right?” Chatty Shy asked hopefully, blushing at the mere sight of the skimpy clothing. Why did she even have that stuff?

“Nope! Now hurry sugar,” Cherry Spices said happily, walking over and tugging her into Inkwell's office, bucking the door closed behind them.

Three minutes of nearly-indecent fumbling and embarrassment later, a far sluttier pegasus set hoof in the lobby, the chocolate pony in tow. Ink Well turned a heretofore undiscovered shade of crimson. Black lace skirt, check. White vest and ribbon in the hair, check. She would never figure out how Cherry Spices had gotten her to put on the black stockings.

“I look like a... a whore!” Chatty Shy cried out in shock and horror, pouting and stomping her hooves. “Nopony will ever take me seriously dressed like this!”

“Good!” Cherry Spices said, smiling, blinding her with pearly teeth.

“Good!?” She sputtered, turning to face the blushing stallion, who was being quiet. “How is this good!?” He did not answer her.

“Look, sweetie,” Cherry Spices said, giggling. “I know what these business types want from a mare, and that,” she gestured generally at Chatty Shy, “is it. A mare they have to respect scares them. A mare that looks like she’ll get them off, on the other hoof...” she shrugged attractively. “Well, you fill in the rest.” an objection formed on Chatty Shy’s lips, but she realized her time was fleeting. She gave a frustrated sigh, dashing out the door on her way to the interview that could change her life.

Chatty Shy galloped at top speeds, rushing towards the looming skyscraper. She couldn’t possibly afford to be late. As she turned a corner, one block from her destination, a wave of police ponies nearly trampled her, galloping off down the street she had just came from. She slowed her pace, coming to a complete halt. She had never seen that many police ponies running in one direction. Even in this city.

Shaking her head, she ran on, through the gilded lobby of the office building that would hopefully make all her dreams come true.


*******


        Bolts of magical fire slammed into her black carapace. The disgusting creature registered not so much as a twitch. She let out a triumphant gurgle of joy as she spat out a strand of webbing, catching one of the city’s security ponies by a hoof and slamming him through the glass of a department store window with a jerk of her thorax. The feeble police fell back from her approach to better cover, surrounding her, firing various elements at her in turn. Everything bounced off her shiny black carapace, leaving it unharmed and seemingly spotless.

        “Always, players needs must chafe ‘gainst the sovereign word of their director,” she declared in an insane frenzy, spearing a coil of tightly knitted strands attached to her back leg. “If my drama pleases thee not, I implore thee, allow my newest thespians to entertain thee with caperings most sincere and entertaining.”

        With a gentle jerk, the sky was blotted out by the forms of ponies, twisted into grotesque forms, transfixed by her silvery cords, shining like the lines of their fates. They came down with an unnatural grace, as if gravity had chosen to exempt them from its laws. Their smiles twisted as they hovered closer to the besieged police. Many trembled in fear, their eyes glowing the same deep orange as their mistresses.

        She laughed maniacally as her puppets descended on the frightened stallions and mares of the police force, tearing and biting at them. Cacophony reigned as pony ate pony. She rubbed her forelegs together in excitement. “Such a grand show dost thou make, my darlings! I have not seen such performances since the old times!” Whimsically, she turned her attention from the panicked and terrified screams and leered at the largest of the skyscrapers.

        Mockery’s thorax twisting unnaturally over her head, she directed her spinnerets at the highest building she could see. Adjusting her aim with practiced care, a strand of thick, sticky webbing shot with silence and alacrity across the expanse and attached itself to the roof of the corporate office. She grinned at the pinpoint precision of her shot. Securing the end to the ground, she skittered horrifically along the rope of web.

Ponies on the street below watched, mouths hanging open in stark horror as she passed overhead. With a heavy thud and a resounding crack, her great legs slammed into the building, clinging to it by some obscure magic. The windows near her shattered, raining their shards on the street below.

        Mockery giggled in wicked glee at the sight of ponies inside, stampeding wildly towards the elevators at first sight of her display. She showed them the long, sharp, glistening bodkins of her teeth, stoking their panic into a trampling frenzy. There would be plenty of time to play, the great spider knew. She took careful aim and laced her webbing gracefully around the building, forming a masterwork of engineering that never failed to enthrall her. No pony, nor anyone else would enter or exit except by her leave. Those errant players who defied her direction would quickly become puppets, powerless before her whims. Soon, she would go through the city to collect her players, ponies strong and fresh. But first, she needed a nest.

        The city was rapidly turning into a cat’s cradle of her silvery excretions. She had been cocooning building after building since she had arrived. None of her players would abscond before the opening night. She had seen to that, lacing her webwork around the entirety of the city first, invisible strings that would compel those caught to guard and defend its borders. Once this tower was hers, she could spread her webbing and effectively dome this city off from the outside world. A grand stage for her marvelous productions.

        She began her climb to the top.


*******


Chatty Shy blushed brighter than Celestia’s sun had ever hoped to be.

She stood in the middle of an executive boardroom on the very top floor of the biggest building she had ever been in. She was still in awe of its size. Her ears had popped three times on the elevator ride up. She stood between two other mares, both looking capable and professional in their expensive business blouses and coats, glasses giving them a sharp and intelligent aspect rather than a visually-disabled one. They were haughty and confident, ready for anything these very important ponies could throw at them. Neither had spoken a word to her. She wished she felt as confident as they seemed to be. All she could do was look at the floor, and focus on not crying.

They had presented the board members with vast portfolios of their career exploits that were being considered and reviewed by all in attendance. When asked for hers, she had prattled about how she must have forgotten it until they had heard enough and told her not to bother. Sometimes, she reflected, her insecurities worked to her advantage. All that was left now was the verbal evaluation. She secretly prayed that she could keep herself from rambling. A boring brown stallion wearing glasses walked over, ready to begin.

This was going to be painful.

He gave a blase smile. “How’s everypony doing tonight?” She raised her hoof, ready to shake his and respond, but he continued, ignoring her completely. Apart from the looks. Most ponies in the boardroom were giving her those. She thought she knew why, and it only made her more uncomfortable. Cherry Spice’s words echoed through her mind.

“Great,” the stallion began, giving precisely nopony a chance to respond. “Now what I need to sort of get a feel for,” he continued in a tone that sapped her of hope for some reason she couldn’t name, “is exactly what you all can kind of ‘offer’,” he air-quoted with a hoof, “to us here at Earthpower.” He once again flashed his smile around the room, clearly proud of it. “Okay, everypony?”

“Well,” the green pegasus mare to Chatty’s left began, smiling pleasantly. “I have worked here before, actually. I was voted one of the finest secretaries the offices had ever seen. I enjoy my work and take my career very seriously!”

“I do too!” The cyan unicorn to her right chimed in. “I’ve worked for three of the major Haymarket 500 companies. I think you will find my resume speaks for itself.”

Chatty Shy felt small and insignificant in the shadow of these two successful mares. What in the world could she offer this company in comparison to them? She took a deep breath as the stallion turned his eyes on her, leering in that subdued way. She prayed that she could control herself.

“Well... I’ve never worked in this field before... but... I’m willing to give it my very best!” She drew in a big breath, relieved she had been able to contain herself. She felt herself begin to shake. “So umm... you know... if there’s anything that I can learn or do to improve I’m very open to criticism and things... you know... like that.”

The other two mares stared at her with a mix of awkward silence and predatory assurance. The stallion smiled at them. “You all seem to be very devoted to the kind of quality experience we here at Earthpower try to assure our clients. But what I’m concerned about is what you can really sort of ‘do’,” more air-quotes, “to make us a better, more well-oiled part of the overall business scene. Okay?” He smiled specifically at Chatty. She shuffled her hooves uncomfortably.

“Well... I have been told that I’m a very creative pony,” the more-qualified pegasus to her left spoke up. “I imagine that I can bring new ideas and...” She was cut off by the unicorn, butting in, stepping towards the brown earth pony.

“We’re secretaries... we aren’t here for our ideas!” She interjected primly.

“Umm...” Chatty Shy said, her mind racing between potential things to say or do. She needed this job. She felt the embarrassment of her outfit and the awkward competitive nature of her position overwhelming her. 

She came to the gradual realization that she was meant to be saying something, and to the even more gradual realization that she couldn’t think of one single thing to say. The silence slowly left the vicinity of awkwardness and entered the neighborhood of crushing social pain. Panting in growing panic, she blurted out: “I will wear socks and dress pretty!” She blushed instantly. I look and sound ridiculous, she mourned with an inner squeak. She tried to keep her legs from trembling, the tears from her eyes.

The stallion gave a long, slow nod, his lips pursed. He looked to the unicorn. “I’m kind of gonna have to go ahead and disagree with you about ideas not being your business. In a properly-working office space, ideas and creativity should be everypony’s business.” He looked to the other pegasus. “And I guess that what we’re looking for here isn’t so much somepony who lets the opinions of other ponies dictate their sense of importance and self-worth, or imagines things about themselves, as somepony who creates ideas and concepts for themselves. Okay?” He put a hoof to his chin and thought for a moment. “I guess when you really get down to it, Miss Chatty Shy here is the pony that really seems to have the kind of humility and sense of creativity that we’re really looking for here.” He gave a maddeningly conciliatory smile. “I’m sorry, but the rest of you just aren’t Earthpower material. You have a nice night, okay?”

Chatty Shy felt the other interviewees staring daggers at her. She was shocked, and more than a little embarrassed. They hurriedly gathered their portfolios and stomped to the elevator, pressing the button harder than was required.

“Well, miss Chatty Shy,” one of the executives said, rising from his seat at the head of the table and walking over to stand near her. “Welcome to Earthpower. I am sure that you will find this to be the beginning of a long and productive career.”

She blushed uncontrollably. “Thank you sir,” she said, not able to meet the invasive glances of the CEO pony. She couldn’t get over what she had said. Though she was uncomfortable around these ponies, she knew that the ends would justify the means. “When do I start?”

A rather loud tap came from the window behind them. The formally-attired ponies, engrossed in the details of her flank, looked to the soft but strange noise. A giant black spider with glowing orange eyes waved politely. Chatty Shy waved back. It took the blinding fear a moment to register in her mind as the spider broke the plate glass with a gentle tap of her foreleg.

The ponies around her exploded in a wild cacophony of screaming as the spider pulled herself gracefully inside. A thrill of pleasure noticeably ran through her strange body at the sounds of their screaming. The business ponies began a mad dash to the elevator, rapidly hammering the call button in a forlorn hope of escape. Chatty dove under a wooden desk, the brief curiosity of whether or not it was her desk a buzz of thought in the back of her mind. How could this be happening?

        “A good even to thee,” the creature said exuberantly, dipping her body into a curtsy. Chatty Shy wondered why such a monstrous creature would have such a silky voice. “Thy abode shall makest for me a most meet home. Wouldst thou not agree?” She took a step forward as the business ponies hammered the button, trying to ignore the lithe spidery creature in the same way they had learned to ignore so many other unpleasant truths in their lives. A sad-eyed older stallion pounded resolutely at the call button, over and over in an unchanging cadence, his vermillion eyes darting rapidly between the flashing button and its accompanying chime and the horrible creature approaching him slowly. The hiding pegasus under the desk choked out a fearful sob, closing her eyes but unable to keep them that way. She did not want to see what was going to happen.

The spider’s face contorted into something possibly intended as a pout. “Why art thou so glum and sere... my beloved dolls? Say not that thou dost not wish to take with me a sport both fine and long, as is my own heart’s fondest desire.” She raised a leg to her face in a terrifying pantomime of the dramatic stage gesture. “Oh! No! Say it not, my precious darlings! An thou shouldst, my sweet heart will burst with the sorrow of it!” 

As she spoke, silvery strands of web made a cat’s cradle between her forelegs. “Let us have it finished before thy fickle minds are changed! There are curtains to be raised, and much to do before the show!”

        Much to Chatty Shy’s horror, the spider skittered into the group, knocking ponies down and pinning others with her many legs. The business-ponies, staid until now, began screaming at wood-varnishing pitches, each scream piercing her ears and her nerves. The creature affixed a strand of web to each of them. As they were ensnared, their eyes grew blank and vacant, quickly changing to funereal smiles plastered nightmarishly across each of their faces. Soon, nopony remained under their own motive. The spider spread her forelegs and laughed the long, high, peeling laugh of the insane. “And so is the stage set most marvelously for our opening night!”

        Chatty Shy prayed that the spider would not notice her, that she would leave and she could somehow escape. She held her entire hoof in her mouth, muffling her sobs and trembling in horror. She watched as the spider gracefully made her way to the center of the room.

Inhaling a deep breath, the spider let loose a long, loud, shrill scream. In its terrible sound, the windows of the top floor shattered, raining shards of glass down on the streets below. She seemed to be dancing to her own private music and occasionally humming a snatch, the mad spider led ponies to the edge of the shattered window. With a joyous cheer and a ‘break a leg’, she threw them out. They hung by her strands like demented marionettes, bobbing sickeningly. Chatty Shy could hear them as they bounced and tumbled against the side of the building. The spider nodded with satisfaction as she gave a final twirl, reducing the room to an unsalvageable wreck.

        She looked at the office space with something like satisfaction. In short order, she had encased everything in her silvery webbing.

        A smile of delight transfixed her alien face as a single terrified squeal escaped the hidden pony’s mouth. She had heard her! Chatty Shy began to panic as the spider carefully moved closer to her. With one leg, the spider toppled the desk, revealing her, a sobbing, trembling, messy, ridiculously-dressed heap. She looked up at the creature, her pupils small and terrified, and let out a scream. Grinning awfully, it spat a thick white ball of webbing, covering her. 

        Chatty Shy could feel the web tighten around her, hardening, constricting her chest. Breathing was hard. She tried to scream, her lungs burning as she struggled. She could hear a delighted laugh on the outside of her silky prison. The spider picked her up, turning her upside down.

        “Let thy cares fall from thy sweet brow, little one,” she heard the monster speak coyly. “Thou shalt not fail to disappoint when thy appointed turn comes upon the stage.” Chatty shy felt light headed and hot, her breathing more and more shallow. “I have graciously vouchsafed for thee a most important role in my great and noble play.” The trapped pegasus’s mind raced in fear as she began to pass out. “Dinner.”

        Chatty felt two sharp things, foreign to her, pushing into her side. She thanked Celestia that it didn’t hurt. She was already closing her eyes. She was so tired. Why did it have to come to this? What about my foals? Who will take care of them? She wondered as the dark grip of the deathmare took hold of her, lovingly pulling her into oblivion. Maybe Ink Well will tend to them... they like him. I would have liked so much to tell him how I felt.

        Goodnight Brash.

        Goodnight Bliss.

        Goodnight Boast.

        One final tear, like so many she had shed for her precious girls, fell from her eye as she accepted the deathmare’s gentle embrace.


*******


        Gale watched as Luna’s moon rolled across the night sky. Celestia had wanted her to wait outside the so-called ‘war’ room while dire matters of strategy were under discussion. For her part, she thought that her presence in such a meeting could be nothing but beneficial. But she bowed to the pony princess’ will. She gave a furtive look at the two guards standing vigil outside of the door, a small droplet of drool threatening to escape her snout. She wondered darkly if they would be missed.

        The door opened and Princess Luna stepped into the hallway, looking both ways before beckoning Gale into the room. She stood and quietly entered the room. It was a large circular chamber. It had clearly lain dormant for many years, and the housekeeping wasn’t the best. Spider webs and dust coated almost every surface. In the center of the room was a large table, on it a map of Equestria, flags of different colors indicating its cities.

        Gale stood over the table, looking over the map with a strange expression. Around her were Celestia, Fleur de Lis, Commander Phalanx, Luna, and another pony she didn’t know. A white stallion with a blue mane. His eyes were tired as he looked at her. Celestia gave the two a look and spoke up.

        “My apologies, Gale. This is Shining Armor,” Celestia said with pride, gesturing to the handsome unicorn. “Shining Armor is the Captain of the Royal Guard. I had him called back from his honeymoon with Princess Cadence to deal with this emergency.”

“A perfect place for thy Captain... with Treachery whispering into thy ear?” Gale mocked as she looked at Fleur de Lis. The model-pony frowned at her. 

The stallion hung his head in shame. “None of this would have happened if I had been here in the first place, maintaining the shield.” He turned to face his Princess. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty, it’s just... I’m supposed to be happy right now.”

        “Shining Armor,” Fleur de Lis said, resting a comforting hoof on his flank, “meet Tempest... Lady of Boundless Rage.” His face quickly grew concerned, eyes lit by fear as he took in the gentle form of the now-grinning pink wolf.

        “The... the Devourer?” Shining Armor sputtered.

        “Devourer?” Gale spat incredulously. “Is that how thy tales remember me? Oh... how I should love to hear from thy ponies sweet mouths which of his many lies the crow hath sown about me.” She giggled quietly, wiping a tear from her eye.

        “I have heard the story,” Phalanx said, regarding the wolf sternly but without judgement. “You were a malicious and terrible tyrant who forced your subjects to offer their foals up to you on a daily basis. Then a great shadow came and swallowed you up.”

        Gale shrugged nonchalantly. “Who but the Wise can know the real truth behind such long-gone tales?” Everypony took a step back, even the princesses. Gale looked among them all haughtily and gave a canine snort. “The crow sows his lies in the hearts of the weak. It is his only recourse. He knows full well that he ranks not even a candle’s flame when stood next to my might.” She looked back to Shining Armor. “Had such stories been true, Captain, then all of thy mothers should have died ere they bore thee.” She grinned darkly, revealing sharp, white teeth. “Yea, and the wide world itself should have been swallowed up by my ravening madness.”

        After a long and terrified pause, Shining Armor shook his head. “Maybe they’re lies... maybe not.” He looked to Celestia for guidance. “Princess... in any case... is it wise to have a wolf here? A wolf who is definitely associated with the Furies, no less?”

        Gale cocked her head. “Thy grievance confuses me, Captain. Have I not convinced thee that if I wished thee harm, thy heart would no longer beat in thy chest?” She smiled sweetly. “Be wary what accusations thou makest, young Captain. Should thy brashness offend me, no puissance or skill of thine can keep me from thy life’s blood.”

        He looked at her with a stern frown. “So I should trust you because you choose not to kill me? You have a strange notion of friendship.”

        “I could change my mind. Make a widow of thy new bride.” Gale’s eyes were full of amusement.

        Shining Armor inhaled a breath for an angry retort.

        “Enough!” Luna interjected, drawing every eye. “She stays and you will all behave.” 

Celestia gave her sister a shocked smile. 

A slow blush crept across Luna’s cheeks. “Sorry,” she said sheepishly. 

With an alicorn’s unreadable smile, Celestia turned towards the map and placed a hoof on a blue flag. “Gale,” She started, regarding the wolf with curiosity. “Misery claims that in one week’s time, he will bring down Cloudsdale.” Her gaze hardened. “Can he do it?”

        Gale nodded gravely. “He is the master of carrion, and with the power of his will he shall rot the very clouds on which the city stands.” Everypony shivered at the thought. “There was a city much like it long ago. It fell in less than twenty minutes.” The room was a collective quiet.

        “I could go there,” Shining Armor said, looking to the princess expectantly. “I could barricade it with my shield.”

        “Do not jest, Captain,” Gale laughed. “Thy barrier would crumble if I should but raise my leg to mark it. It would be little more than a joke to the crow.” Shining Armor frowned, anger bleeding into his resolve. “To be honest, thy best option is to abandon the city. It will fall.”

        Everypony in the room seemed scandalized by the crass joke told before the celestial alicorns. Gale swore she saw one of those secret, infuriating alicorn smiles on the elder sister’s face, but it vanished. 

Fleur de Lis was the first to recover. “They won’t just leave,” she said. “They will want to defend their homes. With their lives if they must. If we evacuate them forcibly... they will resent Her Majesty for robbing them of the chance to do so.” Celestia took on another of those infuriatingly alien alicorn expressions. It was frustrating to Gale that despite not being of their world, she still spoke and moved like them.

        “Then I do not know what to do,” Celestia said somberly. “All of my cities are being attacked. My forces are spread too thin.” She paused for a moment, her face troubled. She frowned and fixed her unfathomable vermillion eyes on the wolf. “What should I do, Gale?”

        Gale thought long and hard before answering. If she told Celestia to fight, many would die. Her brethren were beyond any of these ponies. If she asked Celestia to flee, they would live now, only to die later.

        “It cannot be my place to tell thee what to do, or what not to do,” Gale said with a pensive frown. She met the Princess’ gaze, her eyes hard. “But were I thee, I would make mine enemies pay a dear price for my life.” Celestia nodded resolutely.

        “We have reports that a group of three ponies defeated a large scorpion in Salt Lick City,” Phalanx said to Gale, his tone even. “A friend of yours, I’m guessing?” No smile touched his face, but it was in his tone. Gale wore a shocked expression. Even if Spite was the weakest of them, he was far beyond any pony.

        “Surely thou speakest in jest!” Gale responded in disbelief. “Three ponies defeating a Fury?” She smiled. “Then well should I like to set my power against theirs.” She headed for the door, obviously finished with this meeting.

        “Wait!” Shining Armor started, his voice worried. “Where are you going?”

        “Back to my cave,” Gale said. “I am weary... and bored.”

        “What exactly can each of... you do?” He asked, his voice strained.

        “I shall leave that discovery to thine own devices. Telling thee wouldst make little difference in the upcoming battles.” Gale opened the door and stepped out. “I wish thee all well.”

        The cool night breeze sang through her fur as she left the musty chamber, making her way through the open air garden, to where the little fillies would be. She needed to see them safely home. 

She jumped when the voice rang out behind her. “Devourer! Wait!” She rolled her eyes and turned. The young captain stood behind her, his eyes narrowed, his breathing labored.

        She wasn’t terrifically surprised to see him. “I entreat thee, Captain, not to call me by that tiresome epithet.” She forced a friendly smile. “My name is Gale.”

        He kept his angry eyes on her. Tempest knew that many a petty thief and robber had likely quailed before those eyes. “Is it?” He shook his head in frustration. “I don’t know what to think of you. Even if the stories aren’t true, you’re still a predator. And as far as I’m concerned, no predator has any place in Her Majesty’s cities.” His horn hummed with magical energies. “And your rudeness in front of Her Majesty! If you were anypony else I would have you thrown out of the castle for that alone. But I have to know that you mean my sister no harm. I’ve always been friends with her friends. But if you can’t promise me that, we may have a problem, you and I.” 

She smiled gently at him. “Who is thy sister?” Gale asked curiously, her tone playful.

        “Twilight Sparkle!” He said tensely, his horn luminescing with his frustration.

Her eyebrows rose in surprise. “I mean thy sister no harm, Captain.” She shrugged again. “But I am a predator. In that at least, thou art not mistaken. All lesser things should fear me, and you are right to do so. What thou art tragically wrong in doing is in threatening me. Were it my desire, I could swallow up thee, thy sister, thy princesses, and thy kingdom in one gulp.” She cocked her head in amusement. “Mayhap ‘Devourer’ is not such a cumbersome libel after all.”

        She could see the fear in the young stallion’s eyes, though her voice had not been raised and she made no move against him. His horn glowed brightly. “Then you admit you are a threat?”

        Gale laughed loud and hard. “Certainly, beloved Captain. All these terrors could I sow, and yet it pleases me not to do so. Does that not salve thy fears?”

        “Promise not to hurt my sister,” he said worriedly.

        “I owe thee no such promise. Make not to command me or to extract from me an oath. It will end badly for thee.” Her eyes narrowed. “Mayhap a demonstration of my power will assure thee of thy own powerlessness.”

        Shining Armor snorted, his face grim. “If that’s the way you want to play it.”

        Gale smiled wickedly, eagerness dripping from her voice, “And I had thought this night would be triviality after triviality.” She took a step forward, her eyes bursting into twin infernos. “I shall allow thee to amuse me briefly.”


        Author’s Note
        As Always a big thank you to Malthusite for editing this disaster of a fan fiction. Without him I would probably have thrown this in the recycling bin. I would also like to thank all of you for reading this. Your comments and support are greatly appreciated as always.